Monthly Archives: August 2010

Lager; is produced with bottom fermenting yeast, at colder fermentation temperatures; creating a crisper tasting product.

This reminds me of…

Technical Selling

Where relationship selling is talked about as an “art”, technical selling is more of a “science”.

Here the service from the salesperson has a deep foundation in what the specifics of their product will do for the client. They have a rock solid knowledge of their industry and how customers use their products.

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Ale; is distinguished by use of top fermenting yeast, performed at warmer temperatures; fruitiness and esters are often part of an ale’s character.

That tastes like…

Relationship Selling

The art of forming a bond between you and the prospect. It isn’t just about the warm and fuzzy, it is about belief that working together is mutually beneficial.

For some reason, today I’m feeling like giving you some other people’s articles about relationship selling. A few I like the whole article, others turn into a sales pitch for some product or service…. yet needed to be included for the gems hidden there – be forwarned.

Of course, I always suggest you follow the advice of the Boomtown Rats “Don’t believe what you read” – with my addition “think about it yourself and use what you believe”

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Lager; is produced with bottom fermenting yeast, at colder fermentation temperatures; creating a crisper tasting product.

This reminds me of…

Technical Selling

Where relationship selling is talked about as an “art”, technical selling is more of a “science”.

Here the service from the salesperson has a deep foundation in what the specifics of their product will do for the client. They have a rock solid knowledge of their industry and how customers use their products.

An old friend of Bavaria, Munich Dunkels are smooth, rich and complex, but without being heady or heavy. They boast brilliant ruby hues from the large amounts of Munich malts used, and these malts also lend a fuller-bodied beer. The decoction brewing process also lends much depth and richness. Bitterness is often moderate, with just enough to balance out any sweetness. Hop varieties used tend to be of the German noble varieties, like: Tetnang and Hallertau.

If a prospect has a complex situation and they are looking for someone to create a straight forward solution, you’ll find a Dunkle salesperson there to help.

The depth of their knowledge on product, process, and service allow the Dunkle to create the perfect proposal. Then the Dunkle will use a good balance of anticipated results and detail to make it easy for the prospect to visualize themselves using what is being recommended.

The California Common, or Steam Beer, is a unique 100% American style lager. It’s usually brewed with a special strain of lager yeast that works better at warmer temperatures. This method dates back to the late 1800’s in California when refrigeration was a great luxury. The brewers back then had to improvise to cool the beer down, so shallow fermenters were used. So in a way the lager yeast was trained to ferment quicker at warmer temperatures. Today’s examples are light amber to tawny in color, medium bodied with a malty character. Mildly fruity with an assertive hop bitterness.

The sales phenomena that is the Steam Beer, has to give a nod to Anchor Brewing Co who trademarked the term “Steam Beer” and as such all other beers must be legally referred to as “California Common”. The Steam salesperson does exactly the same thing – differentiating themselves in the market place by being the first to market with new technology and ideas.

Even better many Steam salespeople takes concepts and ideas that already exist and mold them into creative new solutions for their customers.

Before refrigeration, it was nearly impossible to brew beer in the summer due to the hot weather and bacterial infections. Brewing ended with the coming of spring, and began again in the fall. Most were brewed in March (Märzen). These brews were kept in cold storage over the spring and summer months, or brewed at a higher gravity, so they’d keep. Märzenbier is full-bodied, rich, toasty, typically dark copper in color with a medium to high alcohol content.

Märzen salespeople are distinguished by their ability to take an existing situation and make it a great choice for their prospects. They may not have bleeding edge technology or the top of the line service ~ instead they find people who’s problems are solve by what they have to offer.

Fitting perfectly into their customer’s environment – easy, seamlessly, and effortlessly (from the customer’s perspective that is). The salesperson who knows to brew sales in March instead of July to avoid customer dissatisfaction is why the Märzen‘s customers are loyal.

Schwarzbier (“shvahrts-beer”), is simply German for black beer. It doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily heavy or light in body, although they tend to lean towards light. Unlike other dark colored beer they are NOT heavy – rather they are very refreshing and soul lifting beers. Perfect when you’re looking for a lighter beer, but one with depth of colour and taste.

When turning outside of their organizations to understand all the options most people loot to the Schwarzbier salesperson. Their ability to weigh out all of the potential options along with the positive and negatives of each is refreshing.

The depth of the Schwarzbier‘s knowledge amazes people because it isn’t heavy and difficult to talk with them, instead the prospect finds themself feeling better – that there is a solution to the problem, and the Schwarzbier will make sure all the details are there to make an informed decision.

The Scottish style of ales break down into Light, Heavy and Export. Scottish Ales traditionally go through a long boil in the kettle for a caramelization of the wort. This produces a deep copper to brown in colored brew and a higher level of unfermentable sugars which create a rich mouthfeel and malty flavors and aromas. Overall hop character is low, light floral or herbal, allowing its signature malt profile to be the highlight. Smoky characters are also common.

Trust is the 1st word the Scottish Ale salesperson‘s customer will use as a description. The customer feels comfortable telling them the whole story without worrying that some part of the information will be used against them in a negotiation.

The Scottish Ale builds that trust by being one of the best listeners you will ever meet. Like the best bartenders, the prospect feels better after each conversation – believing that everything will turn out ok in the end.

They are willing to wait for the fires to heat up and the kettle to boil on any situation, that way theprospect is choosing to do business with them and never feels like they were sold.

Sturdy farmhouse ale that was traditionally brewed in the winter, to be consumed throughout the summer months. Not so long ago it was close to being an endangered style, but over recent years there’s been a massive revival; especially in the US.

This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness.

People who are looking for a sturdy solution look toward Saison salesperson. The Saison will create the perfect blend of spicy new ideas with the comfort of the familiar – never taking their prospects past their comfort zone.

When working with Saison salesperson the ideas that are presented always have the prospects best interest in mind. Allowing the prospect to trust their situation has been completely developed from information gathered in conversation and research about them (not some generic, one size fits all proposal).

Amber/Red: Extensive Associations

Primarily a catch all for any beer less than a Dark Ale in color, ranging from amber (duh) to deep red hues. This style of beer tends to focus on the malts, but hop character can range from low to high. Expect a balanced beer, with toasted malt characters and a light fruitiness in most examples. The range can run from a basic ale, to American brewers who brew faux-Oktoberfest style beers that are actually ales instead of lagers.

The Red has an uncanny ability to connect with their prospects and customers. Plus pull different people together to make everything work more smoothly. The Red will use the connections they have with people to pull it all together: make the prospect feel connected, ease transitions with testimonials, etc.

Plus Red will be the first person to throw an event for their prospects and customers – then spend the whole time introducing them to each other. Never talking about themselves, but allowing their satisfied customers to do it for them.

You’ve seen (or been) a Redat a party, by the end of the evening they know a little something personal about everyone there. Plus if you ask someone about a Red they will probably say “Well that’s not surprising Red, (s)he knows everyone”.

Hefeweizen: Boundless Enthusias

A south German style of wheat beer (weissbier) made with a typical ratio of 50:50, or even higher, wheat. A yeast that produces a unique phenolic flavors of banana and cloves with an often dry and tart edge, some spiciness, bubblegum or notes of apples. Little hop bitterness, and a moderate level of alcohol. The “Hefe” prefix means “with yeast”, hence the beers unfiltered and cloudy appearance.

When people first meet the Hefeweizen salesperson they are a little surprised. They thought they knew what they were getting, but it is just a little different than they imagined.

Instead of a “typical salesperson” (stay with me – the light beer of our profession) the Hefeweizen introduces the prospect to a completely different sales experience. One full of an enthusiasm of flavor and passion for excellence. The prospect soon realizes that the Hefeweizen bases their on success on the success of their customers.

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Kids love to play hide n’ go seek. Have you ever noticed, that hiding is the fun part for most kids?

Being “it” meant being the person who had to go seeking for everyone else that got to hide. Plus if you were the worst at hiding in a round, you had to be “it” in the next.

Sometimes prospects are hiding, it is our responsibility to run around finding them.

Favorite Spot: thinking back how many times did you go to YOUR favorite hiding spot 1st when you were “it”? I know I did it myself. It’s crazy to think that our customers are hiding in places a salesperson would go first… that isn’t really hiding is it?

So stop going where you would be comfortable and start looking where THEY would be happy hiding.

Remember to Look Up: my younger brother taught me to look UP when I was it. He always climbed, outside it was up in a pine tree and inside you would usually find him on the top shelf of a closet.

The key here is that most salespeople look in the same place for prospects over & over again. Where else could they be hiding? What groups can you check out and participate in to locate them? To be successful at prospecting hide n’ go seek you’ll have less competition if you remember to look up.

Are they REALLY playing Hide n’ Go Seek? In my neighborhood we played a variation of Hide n’ Go Seek called RUN.

Very clever name (not really) as the variation is that all the people hiding are then tasked with returning to safe after the person who is “it” starts their seeking. This combined the seeking part of Hide n’ Go Seek with the strategy necessary to catch your opponent before they run back to the designated safe spot.

If your prospect is playing a different game than you are, there is no way for you to either understand the rule OR win. So make sure you know what game you’re playing to win.

Did They Go Home? In every game there is a point in time when the person hiding gets bored and goes home. If we don’t find where they are hiding quickly enough, our prospects may leave and we will keep looking for them.

Don’t take too long, or you will find yourself all alone.

I hope you enjoyed our exploration into having fun at work and seeing sales as a game. Look for the next issue of A Chip off the Block on August 5th.

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